Bosnia and Herzegovina: Current Issues and U.S. Policy

In recent years, many analysts have expressed concern that the international community's efforts
over the past 17 years to stabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina are failing. Milorad Dodik, president
of the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two semi-autonomous "entities" within Bosnia, has
obstructed efforts to make Bosnia's central government more effective. He has repeatedly
asserted the RS's right to secede from Bosnia, although he has so far refrained from trying to
make this threat a reality. Some ethnic Croat leaders in Bosnia have called for more autonomy for
Croats within Bosnia, perhaps threatening a further fragmentation of the country.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR), chosen by leading countries and international
institutions, oversees implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the 1992-1995
war in Bosnia. It has the power to fire Bosnian officials and impose laws, if need be, to enforce
the Dayton Accords. However, the international community has proved unwilling in recent years
to back the High Representative in using these powers boldly, fearing a backlash among Bosnian
Serb leaders. As a result, OHR has become increasingly ineffective, according to many observers.
The international community has vowed to close OHR after Bosnia meets a series of five
objectives and two conditions.